True story – I used to not like sweet potatoes. Well, I thought I didn’t like sweet potatoes. What I discovered in my twenties is that I didn’t like sweet sweet potatoes. You know, the ones that look more like dessert on the Thanksgiving table. Then we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner and they were serving sweet potatoes. Not wanting to be rude I took a few and much to my surprise - I loved them. Roasted chunks of sweet potato drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and rosemary. It was like a perfect marriage of flavors.

Nowadays I like all forms of sweet potatoes, even the sweet ones I didn’t like when I was younger, but I still have a special spot in my heart for the flavor combination that changed everything. So when I was brainstorming new ways to feature sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, I knew this would be a winner. I am super happy with the way these mashed sweet potatoes turned out. Soft and fluffy with the yummy flavors that I love. So, if you’re looking for a way to savory up your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, look no further!

Directions
Steam sweet potatoes until fork tender. Add the kosher salt (start with smaller amount and add the rest later if you think it needs it). Using a hand mixer on the lowest speed, start to “mash” the potatoes for about 30-45 seconds. Add the milk and olive oil and mix until it reaches your desired consistency. Alternatively you can use a hand masher for the entire process. Stir in the fresh rosemary and black. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt.

*The recipe as written yields 3-4 servings. If you use this recipe for Thanksgiving you will probably want to double it!

**You will notice that I use a lot of ranges in this recipe, that’s because you MUST do taste and texture tests along the way. I can not stress enough how important it is to taste as you go when you are making any kind of mashed potato! What only took 2 tablespoons of milk one time may take 3 tablespoons the next time because of variations in the potatoes. Taste, taste, taste, and taste! Also, please don’t whip and beat your potatoes into a sticky gummy mess just because a recipe says to mix for 45 seconds. Watch the potatoes breakdown and mix just until you get your perfect consistency.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish that combines potatoes, cabbage or kale, onion, basic cream/milk and butter. It is also a dish that at one point in time I might have turned my nose up to. Cabbage or kale? Really? Why would you ruin perfectly good mashed potatoes with cabbage? Oh my how I was wrong and I am so glad that I’ve come around to the wonderful world of cabbage. Truth be told, I’ve been on a bit of cabbage kick lately. I’ve finally realized just how flavorful and delicious it can be. (It’s that same cabbage kick that led me to using it for this colcannon, but it’s also delicious (and packed with nutrients) when you use kale instead.)

The flavor and deliciousness of cabbage really shines through in this colcannon recipe. What I like about this particular recipe is that the cabbage is sautéed with butter and onions instead of boiled like in many other recipes. That really enhances the richness of the entire dish, making this the perfect St. Patrick’s day meal side dish. I served mine alongside Beer Braised Beef with Onions (recipe to come!). The old saying about a perfect Irish meal being a six-pack and a potato was given new meaning with that combo!

Which reminds me, are you excited about St. Patrick’s day yet? Just 4 more days away! Do you have any St. Patrick’s day traditions?

*I like some potato skins in my colcannon but not a lot, so I leave the skin on half of the potatoes and peel the other half

Directions
Add the potatoes to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Mash with 2 tablespoons of butter, milk, and 3/4 tsp salt (start with 1/2 cup of milk and more as needed to get desired consistency).

While the potatoes are boiling, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes, until very soft. Add the cabbage and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until very soft. If you’re using unsalted butter, make sure to season with salt.

Once the cabbage is cooked, add to the mashed potatoes and stir to combine (if using cheddar cheese, add now). Taste and season with additional salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish and top with pats of butter.

There are few foods that bring me right back to St. Patrick’s day and Irish pubs quite like Fish and Chips. The crispy and golden fried fish dipped in delicious tartar sauce. The fries soaked with malt vinegar. Mmm…. A little piece of Irish heaven.

I couldn’t let this year pass with satisfying my craving for this delicious meal. Of course the only way to make it even better is to make it homemade!

I have to admit that deep frying foods at home has always made me really nervous. The huge pot of basically boiling oil was super intimidating to me. But it was time to conquer my fear. Once I got all of my ingredients prepped, I was surprised at how simple it was. To make sure I was able to fully devote my attention to frying the fish, I decided to oven bake the fries. It was nice because I was able to have both things going at once and didn’t have to worry about keeping the fries warm, though I’m sure deep fried fries would be amazing. If you would like to fry your fries, check out Laura’s blog, Tide and Thyme, for those instructions.

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet by coating with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper.

Peel the sides of the potatoes, leaving some skin on the ends, then cut into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise. Carefully stack the potato slices and cut into 1/4 inch strips. Place cut fries in a large bowl and cover with warm water and a teaspoon of kosher salt for 15 minutes. Drain water and layout fries on a clean dish towel to dry. While the fries are drying, wipe out the bowl they soaked in. Return the fries to the now dry bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil. Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes (rotating pans once or twice), or until bottoms start to turn golden brown. Using tongs or a spatula, flip each of the fries. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, mix 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of beer and a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl. Put remaining 1/4 cup of flour in a large ziploc bag. Fill a dutch oven a little less than halfway with vegetable oil. With burner on low-medium, bring oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once oil is hot and you’re ready to fry, place fish in Ziploc bag and shake to coat with flour. Take each fish piece and dip in the beer batter, then place in the hot oil. Fry for about 3-4 minutes then use tongs to flip and fry for another 3-4 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Repeat this in as many batches as necessary (I was able to do about 4 pieces per batch without feeling like I was overcrowding the pot).

Serve fish and chips hot with fresh cut lemon wedges, tartar sauce, and malt vinegar. Also goes great with coleslaw!

Tips:

Have lots of clean kitchen towels and paper towels ready to dry potatoes, clean up drips, and clean off fingers.

Have tongs and spatulas ready for fish and chip turning.

A candy thermometer is a must to monitor the temperature of the oil, especially if you have a crappy stove top like I do.

I cut my fish into a total of 9 pieces (they were each 3-4 inches long).

Have a cooling rack lined with paper towels ready to go for when you take the fish out of the oil.

Jesse is a funny guy. Lately there has been a common recurrence in his reviews of dinner, “It was good/great/amazing/OK, but it would be even better with potatoes.” The man loves his potatoes, and thinks that they should be an ingredient in every meal. Chicken and rice, calzones, hoagies, soup… you name it. Don’t get me wrong, I like potatoes too, but rice AND potatoes in one meal?

After several evenings of, “Where’s the potatoes?” and after finding 2 of the largest potatoes I’ve ever seen at the market, a light bulb went off. It was time to take his potato love to an extreme. And thus was born the STUFFED Twice Baked Potato. Would you like some potatoes with your potatoes?

These potatoes can not be tagged as an “Easy Weeknight Dinner”, not because they’re difficult just because they can be a bit time consuming. Don’t worry, they are well worth the time and effort. Knowing the time/effort required for twice baked potatoes, I really wanted the potato to be the star of this meal so I opted to add chicken to the stuffing. It was nice to not have to worry about preparing a main course and in the end the meal was filling and satisfying.

Scrub the outside of the potatoes really well, then pat dry with paper towels, prick each potato with a fork 6-8 times, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle each potato with about a teaspoon of oil and use a pastry brush to evenly distribute over surface then sprinkle with kosher salt. Flip the potatoes and repeat on the other side. Bake for an hour to an hour and a half, or until they are tender when pricked and the internal temperature reads 210 F (100 C).

When the potatoes are close to being done, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the half and half and broth. Stir well and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime, chop the basil. After the sauce has simmered, add the basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Once the potatoes have finished baking, cut them in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the insides, leaving a thin shell around the edges, then return the shells, open side up, to the baking sheet. Place the potato guts in a bowl. Use a fork to slightly mash the potatoes. Pour the sauce into the bowl with the potatoes and stir to incorporate. Add the cooked shredded chicken and stir.

Fill the potato shells with the filling, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, and return them to the hot oven for 10 minutes, switching to the broiler for the last minute or so if the cheese hasn’t yet started to turn golden brown.

Hi! I’m Jessica. I love cooking, baking, eating, and talking about food. My goal is to make cooking and baking, even from scratch, seem approachable. If I can give just one person the boost they need to try something new in the kitchen, I’ll be happy.